Slow Path to Justice: Kevin Spacey Finally Facing Trial Five Years After Anthony Rapp Accused Him of Sexual Abuse

Five years ago, actor Anthony Rapp unleashed what would become a tidal wave against fellow actor Kevin Spacey. Rapp accused

Oct 6, 2022
Kevin Spacey Finally Facing Trial Five Years After Anthony Rapp Accused Him of Sexual Abuse

Five years ago, actor Anthony Rapp unleashed what would become a tidal wave against fellow actor Kevin Spacey.

Rapp accused Spacey of sexually abusing him when he was a minor, which Spacey denied.

It was the start of Spacey's fall from grace, and now five years after the accusation first surfaced – Spacey is finally sitting for a trial. Jury selection begins today in New York.

Spacey’s Trial Starts Thursday

Rapp says that in 1986 when he was just 14, he encountered Spacey at a party in New York City.

According to Rapp, Spacey grabbed his buttocks, lifted him onto a bed, and briefly laid down atop him before Rapp says he was able to wriggle out from under him.

"He was trying to seduce me," Rapp said to BuzzFeed News in October 2017. "I don’t know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually."

Spacey, 26 or 27 at the time of the party, tweeted shortly after Rapp went public with the allegations, saying that he does not remember the alleged incident. Spacey said in part, "If I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior."

But it wasn't just Rapp – and it wasn't just the one incident, as soon became evident as more and more people came forward with accusations against the actor.

The trial will not focus on the sexual abuse because too much time has elapsed, however it will focus on Rapp's claims of battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Spacey’s Legal Woes Don’t Stop in Manhattan

Spacey's first trial will start Thursday in Manhattan.

But it won't end there, because he will again go on trial in the UK for similar allegations in June of 2023. There he stands accused of sexually assaulting three men about a decade ago.

NBC News reports, "Separately, a Los Angeles judge ruled in August that Spacey and his companies must pay the producers behind Netflix's 'House of Cards' nearly $31 million because of losses incurred after he was fired for alleged sexual harassment of crew members, according to court documents.

Spacey, who starred as a dastardly fictional president, Frank Underwood, denies the harassment allegations.

His character was killed off and Spacey's co-star Robin Wright assumed the lead role for the show's sixth and final season."

Spacey was once one of Hollywood's most beloved and recognizable faces, and now he's persona non grata.

Rapp's courage in coming forward as a male victim of a male perpetrator in the early days of the #MeToo movement helped inspire many victims to out their abusers and fight back. Whatever comes of the trial, Rapp's legacy will be one of courage and determination.

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